A Matter of Chemistry
by Fen2011
Summary: An undercover operation goes badly wrong for one team member, but it could have global consequences. Will the team be able to stop it?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – I don't own Without a Trace and its characters, CBS, WB etc own them.

A huge, huge thanks to anmodo for betaing this chapter, without her it would not be possible.

**A Matter of Chemistry**

**Summary: - **An undercover operation goes badly wrong for one team member, but it could have global consequences. Will the team be able to stop it?

**Chapter 1**

Sighing, Danny Taylor scanned the area; he couldn't believe they had to share the investigation with the DEA. Jason Roberts, their missing person, was a loving father of two and pillar of the community. Or, so they thought. His family, friends and neighbours had nothing but good things to say about him. But then, they began to do the requisite deep background check, and the cracks in Mr. Roberts's perfect life began to show. The contacts to gang members and dealers in the Bronx sent up red flags with the DEA. This is what brought Danny and Jack to their present situation.

Leaning against the car, Jack crossed his arms. The DEA agents were five minutes late. "They're late," he growled as he looked at his watch. "And I bet the arrogant bastards will just walk in here and pretend nothing has happened."

"And some might say that the FBI are more even more arrogant than us," a feminine voice called out from behind them.

Spinning around, Danny tried to hide his smile as his eyes met the voice. She was a petite, brunette with an easy smile, but just looking at her, he knew she could kick his ass. "I'm Special Agent Danny Taylor and this is my boss Special Agent Jack Malone," he said with a smile.

"Special Agent Lucy Knight of the DEA," she replied, extending her hand. "And this is my boss, Special Agent Andy Townsend. He's the guy by the car having his daily battle with technology," Lucy said with a smile. She looked at Jack before returning a sly grin at Danny.

"Special Agent Knight, what can you tell us?" Jack asked.

"Please, it's Lucy. Your boy has been cruising the neighborhood for several months," she started. "We've had the gangs and dealers associated with this area under surveillance for months. We've found no direct link between him and the local 'businesses', but you've gotta to be either pretty stupid or mad or possibly both to mess with these guys."

"And that makes you?" Danny asked with a sly smile.

"A Federal Agent. So, mad and underpaid by default. Go figure," Lucy said as she returned the sly smile.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "So, being slightly insane and underpaid? It's not just an FBI thing?" he asked.

Jack cleared his throat in an attempt to interrupt the suddenly flirty exchange. "Jason Roberts," he said as he tried to guide the topic of conversation back to the case.

"U-mm, yeah, Jason Roberts," Lucy repeated as she forced herself to concentrate on the case not Special Agent Danny Taylor. But there was something about him, apart from his smile and his eyes that drew her to him. "What do you have on him?"

"Happily married, father of two, lives in Manhattan and is self employed. By all accounts, he's a pillar of the community; he coaches the soccer and football teams," Jack explained as he shot a glare at Danny.

"And you want these done under the radar, so if he is this pillar of the community you say he is, then he can go back to that life?" Lucy finished.

"Exactly."

"Look, I will see what I can do but I can't guarantee anything," Lucy replied. She looked up and saw her boss, Andy Townsend approaching. "My boss is coming over. I am sure he can tell you more." She turned to her boss and introduced them. "Andy, meet Special Agents Danny Taylor and Jack Malone."

"Please to me you," Andy said he shook their hands. He turned to Lucy and handed her his PDA. "Fix it. It's beeping at me, please just deal with it."

Lucy tried to hide her smirk as she was handed the device. Andy Townsend was one the best agents the agency had, but he was slightly techno-phobic to say the least. A few moments later, she handed the PDA back to him. "Your inbox was full. You need to empty it once in a while," she said.

Andy just glared at her. "I never asked for one of theses. All it does is cause me grief," he explained. He turned his attention back to Jack and Danny. "Sorry about that. Anyway, the case. I've got a possible sighting. The thing is, it's in a walk-up…"

Jack smirked and turned to Danny. "That's one of the reasons; I recruit younger agents… so I don't have to do any of that energetic stuff."

Andy smiled and handed the piece of paper to Lucy. "Can you check this out?" he asked.

Lucy nodded and headed towards the FBI car. "I hate walk-ups!" she exclaimed.

Danny smirked. "Why do I get the feeling that this always happens?" he asked.

"The same reason why you are always sent to the walk-ups," she replied.

Danny laughed. "One day, one day, I will be boss and I will be the one sending my agents to do the walk-ups." As he climbed into the car, he shot another sly smile. The chemistry between the two people in the car was electrifying. "So want are you doing after this?" he found himself asking, but he had no idea why or how he was asking it.

"After what?" Lucy asked with a smile, as she started the car and headed towards the address.

"After this case, do you have anything planned?"

"No. Do you?" Lucy asked on impulse.

"I was thinking about getting something to eat," Danny replied, feeling strangely compelled to ask Lucy out, even though he had only met her five minutes ago.

"I like Italian, do you know of any good places?" Lucy asked, with a sly smile as she forced herself to concentrate on the road.

"I know a place that has the best Italian food this side of Italy," Danny replied with almost manic grin, still not believing this conversation was taking place.

"Sounds great"

"So it's a date?"

"It's a date," Lucy confirmed with a huge smile. She again forced himself to concentrate on the road; she had never met anyone like Danny before. Something told her that he was special. Something told he, that she really wanted to get to know this man better. "So why missing persons?" she asked as she continued to drive to the address.

**Several Months Later**

It was a crisp January night, and snow gently fell from the midnight sky as the newly engaged couple walked down the Manhattan streets.

"That was great, but so unrealistic," Lucy said of the new James Bond. Shivering slightly, she leaned into Danny.

"I thought it was more realistic than the other recent Bonds," Danny said as tightened his arm around Lucy and gently kissed her. "Anyway, it's Bond. Since when has it been realistic?"

"I know. It's just, well, I want the car. I always want the car," Lucy said with a grin as she leaned up and planted a kiss on his lips.

"So, for your wedding present…you want an Aston Martin?" Danny said as he stopped walking and lowered his head so it was resting against Lucy's. "And here I was thinking you _weren't _high maintenance."

"Me! High maintenance?" Lucy exclaimed, as she unsuccessfully tried to hold back her laughter. "No, I'm thinking, hot car, hot guy, well that's a dream come true."

""Hot car? Hot guy?" Danny exclaimed in mock shock. "Are you seeing someone on the side?"

Lucy grinned. "No. All I want is right here."

"Well then, now we have cleared that up, shall we take it somewhere warm," Danny said, as he tried to wipe the schoolboy grin from his face.

"So, Special Agent Taylor, what do you have in mind?" Lucy asked in a seductive voice.

"Well…" Danny said with raised eyebrows, as he leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

Lucy giggled and kissed him passionately. "We could wait, or…." She frowned with annoyance when her pager shrilled, but chose to ignore it. But as her cell phone began to sound, she knew she couldn't ignore it any longer. "Knight," she said in a distinctively pissed off tone. After a couple, of yes's and no's she ended the call. "I'm really sorry, but we are going to have to continue this later."

Danny sighed. "Work?" he asked.

"Yeah, the paper pushing, blood sucking weasel says it's really important," Lucy said of her new boss, Special Agent Kenneth Livingstone. "It's my night off as well, I bet it's not that important. I mean when Andy was my boss, he would only call me on my night off if, well pretty much it was a matter of national security."

Danny laughed at Lucy's description of her new boss. "Okay. I know he's an annoying paper pusher, and he does slightly look like a weasel, but have you actually seen him sucking blood?" he joked.

"No, but I wouldn't put it passed him," Lucy replied as she dug around in her bag for her car keys. "So shall we continue this were we left off?"

"I would like that," Danny replied, but groaned when his cell phone began to scream. He glared at it before answering it. After another quick conversation, he ended the call. "When we go on our honeymoon, might I suggest somewhere that has no cell phone reception, or in fact any forms of connection?"

Lucy laughed and passionately kissed him again. "I would love that, but your choices are limited. Amazon rainforest, Siberia… u-mmm I think even some of those areas have cell phone reception."

"Damn, Amazon… too many bugs and scary animals. Siberia…too cold."

"I will work on it. I love you and I hope to see you tomorrow," Lucy said as gave Danny one final kiss before turning and heading toward her car.

"I love you, too," Danny said as he watched her disappear into her car, before he headed towards his.


	2. Chapter 2

**A huge, huge thank you to anmodo for betaing this chapter, without her it would not be possible. **

**Chapter 2**

Danny sighed as the elevator opened. It wasn't because he hated his job; it was just now he had more. Before, his job was his life. After hard cases, he really didn't want to leave the office. He needed company, even if it was the janitor doing his rounds. He needed a distraction from the bars, but now he had that. He had met his soul mate. He had met the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Scanning the bullpen, he found a smile. It was the first place that he had felt safe since his parents died, or to be more accurate his mom, it almost felt like a home to him.

"Did I interrupt something?" asked a voice from behind him.

Danny smiled again as he looked down as casual clothing. "Yes and no. Sorry about the causal wear, I've got a suit in the car," he said as he turned to face his boss.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway 'yes and no' doesn't really answer my question," Jack probed with a smile. He had seen a change in Danny Taylor over the last few months, but it was a change for the better – not that Danny was a bad person in the first place. But this Danny Taylor was relaxed; he could switch off and unwind after cases. He didn't stay in the office until ungodly hours after hard cases. This Danny Taylor was the happiest Jack had ever seen him.

"Well you didn't really interrupted anything because a few seconds before you called, Lucy was called into work," Danny explained.

"Oh. How did the apartment hunting go?" Jack asked

"Depressing. We looked at a bunch of places that we couldn't afford, so we gave up and watched the new Bond movie," Danny said as he leaned against his desk. "It's different now. We are looking for different things than when you look on your own. Now, I want to live in a really good area with good schools, but the places in those areas aren't our budget."

Jack laughed at Danny's last comment. "Look, I tell you what, I will make a couple of phone calls and see what I can come up with," he said.

"Really?"

"Yes. Although, I am a little scared of thought of little "Danny Taylors" running around the place," Jack joked.

Danny smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. "And I would call them, my mini-mes."

Jack laughed and playful hit Danny over the back of the head. "Okay, guess we should get to the case. Everyone else should be arriving soon, but let's try and make a start at it," he said as he pulled out a file.

As Jack opened the file, the photograph struck Danny. It was as though he was staring at a mirror image of himself when he was fourteen. But the difference between him and this kid was that someone cared enough about this kid to report him missing – no one would have ever done that for him. He could have gone missing or died and his foster parents wouldn't have given a damn, just as long as they could cash the check.

"Danny, are you alright?" Jack asked as he noticed how distracted Danny was.

Danny shook his head in attempt to clear his thoughts. "Yeah," Danny answered unconvincingly as he forced a smile.

Jack stared at the file and the photo again, and then looked back at Danny. He now understood why Danny had suddenly become so distracted. From the small bits Danny had let slip and from what he had read in Danny's file, this was what he imagined Danny's childhood had been like. He began to say something consoling when Danny cut him off.

"I don't understand. Why did they report him missing?"

Jack frowned. "Don't you believe he deserves to be looked for?" he asked.

"Of course" Danny exclaimed.

"Then why? Why can't you understand why he was reported missing."

"Because, because," Danny started. He looked around a bit not sure how to continue. "It's not about this kid. It's just….I wonder why his foster parents reported him missing. They almost never do."

"Because they care?" Jack suggested, not quite knowing what to make of Danny's reference to foster parents never reporting their kids missing.

Danny laughed. "They never care, that's just some delusional dream," he said in a defeated, lost tone. He looked and smiled with relief, as he saw Sam hurry into the office. "Hey Sam," he said affectively ending the conversation with Jack.

"Morning," she said as she started to take off her scarf and coat. "What have we got?"

"Carlos Pino, 14. Went to meet a friend for a study session last night but never returned," Jack explained as he read the file. "Sam, I want you to start the background check and brief the rest of the team when they get in, Danny, you're with me."

Danny nodded nervously and grabbed his coat. He didn't want to continue the conversation with Jack, but he knew Jack would bring it up again. He didn't know why he had said those words, but he had. He guessed it was he was already beginning to become emotionally involved with this case. He wanted to protect this kid from the horrors of the system that he had experienced. He couldn't believe Carlos's foster parents would case enough to report him missing. He knew they wouldn't want to draw attention to themselves. He knew all they wanted was the money. He had gone missing once for several days and his foster parents had never reported him missing. When he had returned several days later, bloody and beaten, they had taken him to some butcher who had lost his medical licence permanently years ago. He had passed out through pain halfway through the procedure and couldn't sleep for days afterwards because of the pain. Since then, he had developed an almost paralysing fear towards all things medical.

"Danny," Jack called out again, as he saw Danny with the same lost expression on his face. "Are you sure you're all right to work this case?"

"U-mm," Danny stammered as Jack pulled him deep out of his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm…it's, you know…it's a kid that's gone missing and it always affects me a little bit."

"And this one is hitting a little to close to home?" Jack suggested.

"Yeah, a little bit," Danny admitted. There was no sense in denying it, Jack knew. The quicker he confessed that it was affecting him, the quicker Jack would get off his back – although he was lying about how much it was affecting him. He knew Jack wouldn't believe him, Jack knew him too well for that. But at least it would give him a little more time to get his façade in place. "But don't worry, I can work this case."

"Okay," Jack said slowly not really believing Danny. But he knew Danny rarely said anything about his childhood let alone open up. "If you ever need to talk, you know my door is always open."

"Thanks Jack, but really I'm fine," Danny said with a forced smile as he climbed into the car.

The ride to Carlos's foster parents was completely silent. Jack glanced over at Danny a couple of times during the ride over but Danny's position remained the same – staring out the window, with that same lost expression. "Are you sure you can handle this?" he asked as he pulled up outside the small but well kept house in Queens.

"I'm not going to go shooting my mouth off if that's what you mean," Danny snapped.

He turned and eyeballed Danny. "Do we have a problem?"

"No!" Danny growled and started towards the house.

Jack grabbed Danny and slammed him against the car. "What's up with you? Whatever it is I need you to deal with it, okay. I need you 100 on this case, because out of everyone on the team, you are more likely to understand. The other kids in there are more likely to open to you than anyone else on the team."

"What, because of my background?" Danny exclaimed.

"Yes, because of your background. You have been through what they have gone through. You can relate to them," Jack retorted. "I can't do that, nor can Martin, Viv or Sam."

"And you think because of my background, you think Martin is better than me, don't you?"

"What!" Jack said in disbelief. "Danny since when have I ever judged you about your past. If anything, it makes me respect you more. Where is all this coming from? What the hell is the matter?"

"It's nothing Jack, well nothing that you need to be concerned about," Danny said in a near whisper.

"I think it is if it's affecting one of my agents," Jack said. He looked Danny up and down. He knew it was far more than the case that was affecting his agent. "I know the case is affecting you, but what else is it?"

"Nothing, I'm sorry. I shouldn't let this case get to me."

"As soon as they don't affect you, you know it's time to quit. But I know it's not just the case that's affecting you. What is it?" Jack pushed.

Danny sighed; he knew Jack wouldn't stop until he found it. He knew he was only trying to help, but after a lifetime of neglect, even now he found it hard to trust people. "Its just well, since Lucy got that new boss… he's been sending her on these really dangerous undercover ops. She always has bruises and cuts, last time she came back with broken ribs. S-Sorry, its just I am really worried about her," he confessed.

Jack gave Danny's shoulder a supportive squeeze. "Tell you what, after this case I will run a background check on the lovely Kenneth Livingstone. I have an old army buddy, who is pretty high up in the DEA; I'll call him and see what he has to say about Livingstone."

Danny produced a small smile. "Thanks Jack, sorry about bringing my private life to work," he apologised.

"Don't worry about it," Jack said with a smile. "Shall we get to the case?"

Danny smiled and nodded. "Sure," he said as he followed Jack into the house.

Jack knocked on the door and waited. The door was soon opened by a woman in her late forties. "Mrs Warner?" Jack asked. "I'm Special Agent Jack Malone and this is Special Agent Danny Taylor," he said as he pulled out his ID.

"Oh thank god! You're here about Carlos, aren't you?" Mrs Warner exclaimed. "Carlos is such a good boy; I just know something bad has happened to him."

Danny followed Mrs Warner and Jack into the sitting room. He didn't understand why this place had such a happy atmosphere. It was a foster home; they weren't supposed to be happy. They were the subject of his sleepless nights, his nightmares and one of the main reasons he turned to alcohol. He felt like he was on autopilot as he followed Jack's lead and sat down.

"When was the last time you saw Carlos?" Jack asked as he started with the questions.

"Last night, he was going to a friend for a study session. When he didn't return last night, I just thought he either came in late and I didn't hear him or he stayed over and forgot to call us," Mrs Warner said in an almost panicked tone. "Why didn't I phone or check if he got back. I have heard that the first 24 hours of child's disappearance are crucial. If I had phoned or checked then I could of reported him missing earlier!"

"Mrs Warner I need you to calm down," Jack said in a gently and soothing voice. "Now how did Carlos seem when he left?"

"He was fine! He was his normal happy self."

"Does he have any problems at school?" Jack asked

"No. He's doing well at school and has just got on to the school's football team," Mrs Warner said as she tried not to break down.

"You said in the report that Carlos works as a bike messenger. Do you know if he was having any problems there?"

"No. He loves that job. We never mind if any of the kids don't want to work, but Carlos did. We did have a slight dispute about the hours he was going to work. He wanted to work more; we said that he needed time for school. But we did resolved that," Mrs Warner explained.

"How did you resolve it?" Jack asked

"We stopped him. At first, he was pissed off but after a short while he was thankful. He made a lot of friends at school and wanted to spent time with them. He was thinking about cutting down his hours again because he didn't really have time for his job, school, football and his social life," Mrs Warner explained.

"You said your husband worked up-state, where is he now?" Jack asked

"He's on is way down. As soon as I told him Carlos was missing, he dropped everything and headed down – he should be here soon."

"Okay, we will need to interview him as well," Jack said, silently wondering why Danny had been so quiet throughout this exchange. "Do you know anything about why Carlos was put into foster care?"

"He was orphaned when he was eleven. Carlos doesn't like to talk about it, but from what I understand, Carlos's father was abusive and heavily into drugs. He shot Carlos's mother and later he was killed in a gang dispute," Mrs Warner explained.

"When was Carlos placed into your care?" Jack asked

"Two years ago."

"How was he then?" Jack asked.

"He had his problems, which is understandable for a kid like him."

This statement made Danny take attention. Finally, he interjected, "You think just because he didn't come from a privileged background that he is going to be a criminal?" He quickly looked down, as he tried to avoid the glare from Jack.

"No, I think any kid that went through what he went through would have problems, whatever background they came from. He was there when his mother was murdered. The only reason his father didn't kill him was because he was too stoned to take another shot. Then he was passed through a series of terrible group homes and foster homes. They expected a perfect kid, despite the hell he had been through. No one for one moment thought that he needed help dealing with what he had been through."

Danny looked down again, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with the direction in which the conversation was going. He couldn't help but think how different his life could've been if he had the Warner's as foster parents. Maybe he wouldn't have become an alcoholic, maybe he would have taken the bar exam. Would he have joined the FBI? Or would he have taken a legal career that he thought he was destined for?

Jack cleared his throat. "Thank you, Mrs Warner, we will constantly update you," he said as he stood up and he handed Mrs Warner his card. "We will be in constant contact with you but if you think about anything before then, please contact us."

Danny nodded and found himself following Jack out of the building. He was completely numb. He couldn't but to continue to think about how his and Carlos's childhoods were eerily similar but at the same time they couldn't be more different.

"What the hell happened in there? I thought you said you could deal with it," Jack growled as they approached the car.

"I-I, I'm really sorry Jack I don't know what got into me," Danny stammered.

Jack frowned as he heard Danny's very emotional apology. "Look Danny, if this case is really hitting to close to home, then I can let you work from the office or you can take some leave," he said in a much softer voice than before. He could guess Danny was comparing his life with Carlos's. He knew Danny's childhood was very similar to Carlos's apart from one thing – the Warner's. Carlos had the Warner's, but just whom did Danny have? Who did Danny have to talk to about his darkest nightmares? Sadly, he was pretty sure he already knew the answer – no one.

"Thanks Jack, but I am fine. I promise to keep my temper and emotions under wraps."

"Do you want to talk to-"?

"Jack, I'm fine. I don't need to talk to Doctor Harris," Danny said quickly and defensively.

"Calm down. What I was going to say is that if you want to talk to anyone, anyone at all, I will give you the time off," Jack said gently.

"Sorry, it's just," Danny said sheepishly as he stared as his feet.

"Its okay, I know I told you this before, but my door is always open," Jack said as he gave Danny a supportive pat on the back. "Let's get back to the office."

Danny smiled and nodded as he climbed into the car. Maybe he hadn't had people like the Warner's in his life when he was a kid, but he definitely had that kind of support now in Jack.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danny sat at his desk and ran a hand through his hair. The case was just one dead end after another. He really could see the younger him in Carlos, he had always been trying to escape his past, like Carlos. But unlike Carlos, his past always caught up with him within a day or two, maybe Carlos's past had finally caught up with him. He sighed as he looked at the smiling photo on the whiteboard – when was his past going to catch up with him, Danny thought sadly.

He stared down at the case file, there had to something he could do. He had to find Carlos; he had to make it right. He felt as though if he could save just one kid like Carlos he was helping. As he continued to stare at the file an idea came to him. Carlos was a part time bike messenger; maybe his disappearance had something to do with that. He knew they had covered and interviewed everyone at the depot but he knew about the dodgy pick-ups from his time as a bike messenger as a kid. If he worked as one of them, then maybe they would talk to them. He knew that when he was working as bike messenger he never talked to the cops, and he doubted much had changed. He was just about to walk to Jack's office to suggest the idea, when his phone rang.

"Hey, baby," he said, feeling relived to hear Lucy's voice.

"Hey, how's the case going?" Lucy asked. She closed her eyes and thought about how she was going to tell Danny about her being sent undercover again. She knew he was really worried about her.

"I'm… the case is tough but I think we might have a break."

"Yeah? That's good. Are you okay?" Lucy asked her voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine, but I'll be better once this case is over."

Lucy sighed and raked a hand through her hair. This was going to be difficult. Danny was already really affected by this case, she knew the case had to be something to with a kid – Danny was like that. He always wanted to help them, sometimes putting his own live in jeopardy.

"Danny, Ken is sending me under again," she said quietly. "But it will only be for a couple of days and I will be fine," she quickly added.

"What?!" Danny exclaimed, as he felt his heart skip a beat.

"It's a local drug ring. I will be under for four days max. I'll be fine," Lucy said, hoping she sounded confident – she didn't want to add to Danny's worries.

"O-Okay. Just be really careful," Danny stammered, but he held but on his own potential undercover operation.

"Danny, what's up?"

"Nothing, it's just the case and I'm worried about you."

"You will find the kid and I will be fine, so what else is up?" Lucy pushed

"I'm thinking about going undercover, I think it's the only way I will find the kid, but I just have to persuade Jack."

yHey,

Lucy took a breath and closed her eyes. She knew Danny was always worried about her going undercover. However, she regularly went undercover. Danny rarely did. She also knew once Danny was set on something it was hard to persuade him not to do it. "Please just be really careful. Okay?" she pleaded.

"I will, baby, I love you." Danny ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes as he tried to get a hold of his emotions. "I've got to go."

"I love you too Danny," Lucy said she ended the phone call.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danny walked determinedly into Jack's office. "Jack, I think I have idea," he said.

Jack looked up from his paperwork and gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

"Carlos worked part time for a bike courier, so maybe they know something," Danny suggested.

"They didn't talk to Sam or Martin," Jack replied.

"No, but they may talk to someone that's working with them. You know…one of them," Danny said. "Martin and Sam have been made, you and Viv well…"

"Well what…" Jack said with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing, I just think I would be the right person to do this," Danny said. "I need to do it," he said in a near whisper.

"I don't know, Danny."

"Why not? I will be only be under for a couple of days…tops. And Jack, it's a group of bike couriers. I have dealt, I've lived with much worse, what could go wrong?"

"I just have a really bad feeling about this," Jack said

"I'll be fine, I know how to look after myself," Danny replied. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Don't even get me started!"

"Come on," Danny pleaded. "You know this may be one of our only chances we get to bring Carlos back to his family."

Jack closed his eyes and raked his head through his hair. He knew Danny was right, but he had a really bad feeling about this. He knew Danny was a highly trained FBI agent, and one of best. He knew Danny knew the risks. Carlos was a kid, he was missing and it was there job to find him. But it was his job as Danny's boss to protect him from harm or was it to minimise the risks.

"Okay, but I want you phoning in every hour."

"Jack!" Danny explained. "If I am phoning every hour, they will never trust me!"

"Okay…every six hours and if you are so much as half hour late, I am going in to get you out!"

Danny smirked. "Yes, mom," he whined in a joking voice as he turned and headed out of Jack's office.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danny pulled his jacket closer to his body; he had only been under for two days and he felt like hell. He had found out nothing new about Carlos apart from the occasional dodgy package pick up, but he already knew that. He leaned against a wall as another painful coughing fit raked his body. He couldn't believe he had got the flu now, especially with this case. But he knew he would just have to shake it off. He had to find out what happened to Carlos. He massaged his temples as a white-hot pain shot through his head as his headache reached new levels of pain. His vision blurred and he held onto the wall to steady himself. He looked at his watch and swore softly, he had half an hour to get to the place where he was going to meet Jack, normally this wouldn't be problem, but with the way he was feeling, he doubted he would ever make it in time. He would be late to meet Jack and then Jack would yell at him, and the thought of that brought pain to his tender skull. He closed his eyes and tried to draw some more warmth into his shivering body. He had to pull himself together before he met up with Jack, or he would pull him from the operation for sure. Jack had disagreed with the whole undercover idea to begin with and if he turned up looking like he felt, he knew Jack would stop the whole mission. He had to find Carlos; he had to find a lead. Once he had found and brought Carlos back to his foster family, then he could rest. With this thought, he pulled himself up and started to cycle towards the meeting place.


End file.
